Just Breathe

A few days ago I posted about the very premature birth of our twin granddaughters(they are doing well for being so premature; we continue to pray and have faith).  My daughter-in-law has a blog where she keeps all of us updated on their progress and problems.  From the blog, "There's a condition among premature babies known as bradicardia (I've never heard of it).  Ranae said that the babies' heart rates will drop below 100 bpm (not good) which is caused by a lack in lung development or brain connectivity.  The brain doesn't let them know they need to breathe."   When this happens they rub their feet or their backs to remind them to breathe.

What does this have to do with us?    There have been instances where I've found myself holding my breath; usually in stressful situations, and I have to consciously take a deeper breath. 

In my very first Rapid Eye Training Manual there are several pages that deal with "breath work"(different ways of breathing that bring about certain results).  I'll list them because I think they're interesting.  Deep breath:  it oxygenates the cells of the body and brings the body into a state of conscious relaxation; also a cleansing breath.  Slow Breathing:  slows the mind down and relaxes the muscles.  Release Breath: pushes toxins out of the lungs, called the deep cleansing breath.  (These are just a few.)   My point in mentioning these few is to illustrate that our "breath" can be used for more than just keeping us alive.


There's a song called, "Breathe" (the chorus goes something like this)  "We can't jump the tracks we're like cars on a cable and life's like an hourglass glued to the table, no one can find the rewind but now, cradle your head in your hands, and breathe.....just breathe.....yeah breathe.....just breathe....."     The point of the song is that problems and fears happen in our lives and sometimes all we can do is just "breathe" through it.   (I have found myself taking quite a few deep breaths today thinking about those tiny babies who are little fighters).

From the website Positively Positive, "Most of us do not use anywhere near the capacity of lungs meaning that we miss out on the energy that more oxygen would give to us as well as the healing effects of releasing toxic waste products. Why is this? Our brains were not designed to process the amount of information that we currently receive. Rather than take in information slowly, processing it through the higher ordered thinking parts of the brain, the information comes through so rapidly that it goes to the more primitive parts of the brain. The primitive part of our brain is designed for our survival. When hit with this much information, it goes into a bit of a crisis mode putting us into the fight-flight-or freeze response. Since we often can’t fight or flee, we end up freezing, holding our muscles tense and breathing shallowly. We’ve become so accustomed to living this way that we no longer notice. That’s why it’s important to remind ourselves to take a deep breath. We notice that we’ve been holding tension- and break the cycle."

Think about your breath; it's a miracle and it keeps you alive.  The next time you feel a little tense or stressed, remember to take a deep breath (it won't hurt to do it more than once a day); somehow, everything will be okay.